Referee Steve Mazzagatti may or may not have intervened too quickly
on Jake
Ellenberger’s behalf Friday at “The Ultimate Fighter 15”
Finale, but regardless Martin
Kampmann doesn’t feel it affected the outcome of the fight.

“At first I thought maybe it was a little bit early,” Kampmann told
the Sherdog
Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.” “Because I don’t like early
stoppages at all. I like letting them go as much as possible. I
thought it looked a little early, but when I saw the replay, it
didn’t look like [Ellenberger] was doing much defense. He was just
kind of curling up on his side. I don’t think it would have been
much different if [Mazzagatti] gave him a couple of extra seconds.
I had plenty of elbows left.”

The finish came 1:40 into the second round. Kampmann had hurt
Ellenberger with a right hand and dropped him with a knee from the
clinch. However, in the first round, it was Kampmann who found
himself on his back after eating a left hook.

“I would have been pissed if [Mazzagatti] had tried to stop the
fight on my first knockdown,” Kampmann said. “That was just a flash
knockdown. I was still going. I was still moving as soon as I
landed on my ass. I wasn’t out. I think he did a good job letting
it go there.”

If it were up to Kampmann, Mazzagatti would have given Ellenberger
a little bit longer to recover too. That doesn’t mean he
necessarily disagrees with the stoppage, though. He just doesn’t
want it to take away from what proved to be a dramatic comeback
win.

“It sucks for me to hear people complain about it because I feel I
was in the best position possible,” Kampmann said. “I would have
happily let the fight go on for a little bit longer because
[Ellenberger] was just turned up on his side and he wasn’t really
doing any defense at all. I don’t like when people try to take away
from my victory.”